Correct way to have a Darshan of Lord Balaji in Tirumala

It has become a common sight that many people visit Tirumala alone and have a darshan of Lord.Venkateshwarar(Balaji) neglecting the visit to Thiruchanoor and Adhi varaha swami. A kind notice to all, your visit to Tirumala is definitely not a fulfilled one if you fail to follow certain practice. According to our tradition, it says the right practice is to visit Tiruchanoor( Alamel Mangapuram) and get the blessing of Goddess Padmavathi(Alamelu) first. Believed to be a form of Lakshmi-the Hindu devi of wealth and good fortune, Alamelu is the consort of Sri Venkateshwara. The name Padmavati is Sanskrit for "she who emerged from lotus".

Some people visit Lord Venkateshwara first and then Visit Padmavati thayar(Thayar means Mother). This is not an offence. But According to Hindu Dharma, Mother comes first before anyone for a child and the same is applicable here. After visiting Thiruchanoor, the next destination for the pilgrim is the 'Aadhi Varaha Kshetram' which is located very near to the 'Swami Pushkarani'(Holy Water tank) in Tirumala. Sri VarahaMurthy Temple at Tirumala is considered to be a very ancient one and Pilgrims should first worship Lord Varaha and then Lord Venkateswara.

Taking bath in the Swami Pushkarani is considered to be very auspicious and the water in the pushkarani is being frequently recycled by the osmosis process since there are hundreds of pilgrim take bath in the holy pushkarini and the water is not be contaminated. The image shown here is the Adi varha swamy and the water tank is the Swami Pushkarani

Arunachaleshwarar & Adi Annamalai Temple - A brief History

Arunachaleshwarar temple's history is certainly unknown to many of us and the earliest known record of the temple is in the works of the great tamil poet Nakkirar of the third Tamil Sangam period. With his records, we can have a fair idea to trace the temple's origins back at least 2000 years. At that time, the temple might have been a simple wooden structure. The present royal gopuram ages approximately 1200 years. This has been determined from an inscription in the structure that was made during the reign of Chola kings who ruled in the ninth century A.D.

Adi Annamalai is the oldest temple around Arunachala. It was built hundreds of years before Arunachaleswarar Temple. he name of this Temple, Adi Annamalai means ‘first’ or ‘ancient’ Annamalai (Arunachaleshwarar).The legend of Adi Annamalai recounts that Brahma, after His dispute with Vishnu about the fiery column, made a lingam and went to the other side of the Hill to worship Shiva. Thus, this lingam is supposed to be the first, ancient and original lingam of Annamalai and hence the name Adi Annamalai.” This quote is from Arunachala Grace Blog. Adi Annamalai is located in the northern side of Arunachala hills and it is in the 'Girivalam' path. ( I shall discuss about GIRIVALAM in detail in my future post). You can see the Gopuram of Adi annamalai temple.

Lord Venkateshwara in Tirumala - A brief History

As I explained in my previous post, the presiding deity in Tirumala is Lord Venkateshwara means the Lord who destroys the sins of people. The name Venkateshwara can be split into multiple parts in Sanskrit. Ven (sins), kata (destroyer), and ishwara (Supreme Lord). He is fondly called as venki by many of his devotees. The presence of 7 hills influenced the name of deity as 'Ezhumalaiyan'(in Tamil) and 'Ezhukondalavadu'( in Telugu) which means 'Lord of the 7 hills'. The origins of the temple is still a matter of scholarly debate.

Sri Venkatachala Mahatmyam is the most accepted legend with respect to Tirumala and provides the history of the temple across the various yugas. The Sangam literature of Tamil such as that of Silapadikaram and Satanar Manimekalai, dated between 500BC and 300AD, mentions Thiruvengadam (now named Tirupati) by the appellation "Nediyon Kunram" as the northernmost frontier of the Tamil kingdoms.

In fact, a fairly detailed description of the deity is given in the famous Tamil Literature Silapathikaram and the verses are:

“ High on Vengadam's towering crest, with
flowing streams in flood,
Betwixt the effulgent glory, of shining Sun and Moon,
Like unto a blue cloud in lightning dresst In all the brilliance of rainbow dight, The Red-eyed great One, majestic stands
In dress of flowery brilliance with garland bright,
One lotus hand with fearsome disc adorned, and milk white conch (the other held.)
”
Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions of Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra.


The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. There is also the Ranga Mandapam, which is to the left side of the temple as we enter. This is where the main deity "Sri Ranganatha Swamy" of SriRangam Temple (Trichy) was protected, for a period of almost 60 years, during attacks byMalik Kafur in the 14th Century.

Arunachala Temple - Tiruvannamalai

The available records say that the temple was built in the 9th century A.D. by the Chola kings. (Adi Arunachlaeshwarar temple is the oldest in the region and it ages more than 2,200 years). The temple is very famous for its massive gopurams and the 11 tiered East Raja Gopuram was built by the chola emperors and the expansion of the temple took place during reign of the VijayaNagar King Krishna deva rayar's supervision who built the 1000 pillared hall and the temple tank. The presiding deity in this temple is Lord shiva and the Godess Parvathi blesses us here in the name of 'Unnamulai Amman'.

Tirumala- The Bhooloka Vaikuntam

Triumala Sri Venkateshwara temple is located in the hill town Tirumala of Andhra Pradesh. The presiding deity of this temple is Lord Venkateshwara and this temple is the richest and most worshipped in the world. Atleast 50,000 pilgrims visit this temple everyday and during festive seasons the number shoots upto 500,000 a day. The idol here is the self manifested form of Lord Vishnu and the lord is said to preside over here during the entire Kali Yuga period.

Lord venkateshware hill is located on the Venkatadri Hill, one of the 7 hills of Tirumala and hence it is also known as Sapthagiri temple ( Temple of 7 hills). The Holy mantra chanted is Om Namo Venkateshaya. Composers like Annamayya, Thiyagaraja have compsed beautiful kirtanas( Songs) on Lord Venkateshwara. The 7 hills represent Saptha Rishis ( 7 Sages according to Hindu terminology) and the lord is also reffered as 'Sapthagirivasan'. The name of the 7 hills are Vrushabadri, Anjanadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Sheshadri, Narayanadri, Venkatadri.

Tiruvannamalai - The Divine Capital Of Cosmos

Tiruvannamalai is the place where Annamalaiyar (Arunachaleshwarar) temple is located and it is one of the greatest Shiva temples in the world. Tiruvannamalai haas long been associated with Yogis and Siddhars. Tiruvannamalai earned it's worldwide fame because of the famous 20th century guru Sri Ramana Maharishi.

A common feeling among devout Hindus is: Birth at Tiruvarur is a boon. Visiting Chidambaram is a boon. Death at Varanasi is a boon. Thought of Tiruvannamala itself is a boon. Tiruvannamalai is one of the 'Pancha bhoota sthal'(Sthalangal in Tamil) and it represent the Fire element along with Chidambaram(Sky), Tiruvanaikoil(Water), Kancheepuram(Land) and SriKalahasti(Air). A grand scale celebration takes place on the Karthigai Dheepam day and on that evening, a huge lamp lit on the top of the mountain in a cauldron which contain 3 tonnes of Ghee.

Girivalam (Circumambulation) of the 14km distance mountain is considered to be and more than hundred thousands of pligrims circumambulate the Arunachala hills barefoot on every full moon day. Advaita Vedanta guru Bhagavan Shri Ramana Maharishi lived here for 53 years until his death in 1950 and his ashram is located at the foothills of Arunachala mountain.

My Blog Preamble

I am a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva & Vishnu and I often visit Tiruvanamalai and Tirupati since my college days. As blogs have become a common aspect in everyone's life nowadays, I am doing my best to preach good things to people through the same medium.

P.s: If you have any vital information about Tiruvannamalai or Tirumalai please share here as it may reach to everyone who visits this blog.